Tottenham Hotspur know a defeat would put a serious dent in their chances of making a late push for the top four when they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League this afternoon.
Under the stewardship of interim coach Ryan Mason once more, the Lilywhites came from behind to earn a point against Manchester United in midweek and will be hoping to build on that form today.
The Reds, meanwhile, could leapfrog Spurs with a victory, so a lot is at stake and after such a poor start to the season, the Merseyside giants are finally starting to show some life by going unbeaten in their last five outings, including 13 goals in their last four matches.
Of course, a frontline containing Mohamed Salah is always going to be dangerous and Mason must plan for his threat, particularly if Trent Alexander-Arnold reverts back to his natural right-back role.
Will Ivan Perisic or Ben Davies start vs Liverpool?
As such, the 31-year-old caretaker could be taking far too much of a risk to start Ivan Perisic at left wing-back.
The Croatian vet has delivered three goal contributions in his last six top-flight appearances and leads the squad for total assists (seven) but he may lack the defensive nous and speed to combat Salah and Alexander-Arnold for 90 minutes.
Indeed, 12 other players in the current squad average more tackles and interceptions per 90 than Perisic, whilst he ranks third overall for challenges lost (0.80 per 90), via FBref, which may suggest that he'd be in for a rather trick afternoon against a player that has scored 27 goals and provided 11 assists across 45 appearances this term.
Salah's threat is undoubted, though to reinforce that, he ranks fourth in the Premier League for total shots on target and expected goals, as per FBref.
It could, therefore, be wise for Mason to opt for the more defensively-sound and "reliable player" Ben Davies – as once lauded by his former manager Antonio Conte.
As a natural left-back, the £28m-rated Wales stalwart has often been deployed as a left-sided centre-back in a back-three and very rarely as a wing-back.
However, in the four appearances he has been deployed there, Spurs are unbeaten, having kept two clean sheets against West Ham United and Chelsea. He even popped up with an assist against the former too.
Having once been hailed as a "beast of a player" and "world-class" by statistical analyst Ben Griffis only last year, the 30-year-old could be an ideal candidate to help silence Salah and co at Anfield later this afternoon.
He – and likely Clement Lenglet – could double up on him down the left-hand side, allowing Heung-min Son some space to counter-attack Alexander-Arnold, who himself is rather suspect defensively.
Spurs rarely defeat Liverpool, especially on their own turf, but Mason could aid his team's chances by unleashing Davies over Perisic in his starting XI, given the evidence above.
